A reflective display is one in which the displayed image is perceived by a viewer when ambient light is reflected from the display. This is opposed to emissive displays in which the display includes a light source of its own and emits backlight through the image to the viewer. Reflective displays operate by having a number of pixels within the display modulate the reflected light to a desired color. Thus, an image may be formed as different pixels may be configured to modulate reflected light differently at a given point in time. As reflective displays do not include their own light source, they consume less power than emissive displays. Reflective displays may also be ideal for outdoor use where emissive displays cannot produce sufficient brightness.
One method of forming a reflective display includes stacking light modulation layers, each light modulation layer configured to selectively absorb or reflect light of a different wavelength range within the visible spectrum. Typically, three layers are used and identified with cyan (to modulate red light), yellow (to modulate blue light) and magenta (to modulate green light). While such a reflective display may provide a wide color gamut, it may absorb more than an ideal amount of light as the light passes through the several modulation layers. Additionally, the absorption spectra of the layers may not be ideal. In order to produce a quality image of sufficient brightness and color gamut, it is beneficial to have a reflective display that minimizes the amount of absorption of the light which should be reflected.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.